as in island
a ring-shaped land mass surrounded by water and made of coral
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Recent Examples of atoll
Analysts have said Beijing’s plan to categorize the shoal as a nature reserve amounts to trying to take the moral high ground in the dispute over the atoll, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines.
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Reuters, NBC news, 16 Sep. 2025
The main islands, including Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Oahu and Kauai, are among a chain of islands, atolls, reefs and volcanoes beneath the sea that stretches 1,700 miles in the Pacific Ocean.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
China seized the uninhabited atoll – 870 km (540 miles) from its southernmost province of Hainan – in 2012 after a long standoff with the Philippine Navy, and has maintained an almost constant coast guard presence in nearby waters since.
—Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
Also in the Tuamotus, the atoll of Fakarava is known for diving at its south pass, Tetamanu, famed for its wall of hundreds of gray reef sharks.
—Terry Ward, AFAR Media, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atoll
Reuters, NBC news, 16 Sep. 2025
The main islands, including Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Oahu and Kauai, are among a chain of islands, atolls, reefs and volcanoes beneath the sea that stretches 1,700 miles in the Pacific Ocean.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
China seized the uninhabited atoll – 870 km (540 miles) from its southernmost province of Hainan – in 2012 after a long standoff with the Philippine Navy, and has maintained an almost constant coast guard presence in nearby waters since.
—Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
Also in the Tuamotus, the atoll of Fakarava is known for diving at its south pass, Tetamanu, famed for its wall of hundreds of gray reef sharks.
—Terry Ward, AFAR Media, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atoll
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atoll
Noun
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Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the island received 156,000 yearly visitors — and $120 million in annual tourist revenue.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
19 Oct. 2025
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At their closest point, the bombers reached 48 miles from Los Roques, a small Venezuelan island archipelago of a few thousand residents.—
Natasha Bertrand,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Long Bay Beach, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos No, the island of Provo—the traveler’s gateway to Turks and Caicos’s 40-odd islands and cays—isn’t undiscovered by any stretch of the imagination.—
Kristin Braswell,
AFAR Media,
14 Aug. 2025
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Offshore, cays drift in dreamy isolation—their edges kissed by foamy surf and dotted with nesting Brown Pelicans.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
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These islets include beta cells and can be infused into a patient to restore their ability to produce their own insulin.—
Tara Haelle,
Scientific American,
14 Oct. 2025
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The uninhabited islets became a focal point of tensions between China and Japan after Tokyo nationalized the chain in 2012.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Adopt a coral reef and be a part of keeping this unique ecosystem alive.—
Taylor McIntyre,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Oct. 2025
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At the nonprofit Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Anna Marsden leads the largest coordinated coral reef protection and restoration effort globally, securing a $287-million grant from the Australian government in 2022 and $456 million in additional private and philanthropic funding.—
Elisabeth Brier,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atoll.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atoll. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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